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A small business has no sales in a month and assumes it can skip GST filing or tick nil, even though it bought goods that carry input tax credit.
Filing is due every period regardless of sales. A return is nil only if every table is empty: no outward supplies, no reverse charge purchases, no ITC, no advances and no credit notes.
Before filing, check the purchase register and GSTR-2B for credit, the bank statement for advances received, and the credit note register for the month.
Either a correct nil return filed by the due date, or a regular return that claims the month's credit so it is not lost or delayed.
Yes. If you are registered under GST, you file your returns for every month (or quarter) even if you sold nothing. You may file a nil return only when there is nothing at all to report in any table, and that includes purchases that carry input tax credit (ITC), the GST you paid on purchases that you can use against future tax.
Why do I have to file when nothing was sold?
GST registration comes with a filing duty for every period, not only the busy ones. The portal tracks each period as filed or not filed. A missed period shows up as pending, and the portal charges a late fee under Section 47 of the CGST Act, 2017 for each day of delay. Your customers and lenders can also see your filing history, and gaps look bad.
For a monthly filer, GSTR-1 (the sales return) is due on the 11th and GSTR-3B (the summary return where you pay tax) on the 20th of the next month. A nil return still has to meet those dates.
When is a return not nil even though sales are zero?
This is where most mistakes happen. Zero sales does not mean zero entries. Check these before you choose nil:
| What happened in the month | Is the return still nil? | Right treatment |
|---|---|---|
| Purchases with GST that you can claim | No | Claim the credit in GSTR-3B Table 4 |
| Purchases under reverse charge (for example, legal fees from an advocate) | No | Pay the tax in Table 3.1(d), then claim credit in Table 4 |
| Advance received for a future supply of services | No | Declare and pay tax on the advance |
| Credit note issued on an old sale | No | Report it in GSTR-1 and reduce the tax in GSTR-3B |
| Nothing at all: no sales, purchases, advances or notes | Yes | File nil GSTR-1 and nil GSTR-3B |
If even one row other than the last applies, you file a regular return with mostly zero values and the few entries that matter.
Worked example: the credit you leave behind
A Pune trader opens a new shop in July. No sales yet, but stock is bought:
- Purchases: ₹1,80,000
- GST on those purchases at 18%: ₹32,400
- Sales: ₹0
If the trader files a nil GSTR-3B, the ₹32,400 does not move into the electronic credit ledger for July. The credit is not lost forever, because it can usually still be claimed in a later month up to the Section 16(4) deadline of 30 November after the financial year ends. But it sits outside the ledger, it is easy to forget, and when August sales of ₹3,00,000 bring ₹54,000 of output tax, the trader pays ₹54,000 in cash instead of ₹21,600 (₹54,000 minus ₹32,400) unless someone remembers to pick it up.
What does a missed nil return cost?
For a nil return the late fee is ₹20 per day in total (₹10 CGST plus ₹10 SGST). Notification 19/2021-Central Tax caps it at ₹500 in total per return for taxpayers with nil tax. So a nil GSTR-3B filed 10 days late costs ₹200, and one filed 40 days late hits the ₹500 cap. For a return with tax payable, the fee is higher (₹50 per day in total) and interest at 18% a year under Section 50 runs on the unpaid tax.
The bigger cost is indirect. A string of unfiled periods can lead to suspension of registration, and the portal will not let you file GSTR-1 for a period while earlier GSTR-3B returns are pending.
How do I file a nil return?
- Log in to the GST portal and open Returns Dashboard for the period.
- For GSTR-1, choose the nil option and file with DSC or EVC.
- For GSTR-3B, answer the opening questions so all tables show zero, check Table 4 is truly empty, and file.
- Alternatively, send the nil filing SMS from your registered mobile number.
Keep a one-line note in your books for each nil month saying why it was nil. It helps at year end when you prepare the annual return.
What to read next
Once sales start, small timing gaps between your books and the portal begin. If you buy from small suppliers, read what the QRMP scheme is and why quarterly invoices reach GSTR-2B late. For the full monthly routine, see GST monthly compliance for CA firms, the reconciliation errors that trigger GST notices and the GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B tie-out runbook.
GST outward reconciliation (GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B) leads the TransactIG GST roadmap; inward matching (GSTR-2B, ITC, IMS) is on the roadmap. See the GST reconciliation page for where it stands.